What's Inside A Seed?

First graders were tasked with finding out what, if anything, is inside a seed. Their thoughts and ideas included the following: "nothing; its hollow; a little bit of liquid; a tiny plant;  a little leaf". Well, what better way to find out then to open one up and examine it?!  So, we soaked Lima bean seeds in water over night (to make it easier to open them) and became detectives the next day, trying to discover what, if anything, is inside a seed. And what did we discover?  It isn't empty!  There is a large amount of food storage (or cotyledon), a tiny root and a tiny plant.  And the entire seed is covered and protected by a seed coat.